Contemporary Jade Carvers

It is a murder weapon; it is a sacred object. It’s an enormous memorial. It is one of the toughest materials on earth. If you thought of diamonds, or steel, you are incorrect; this highly regarded and very valuable gem material is jade.

What compelled that person to pick up the jade nugget, look at the various colors, test its toughness, and finally, to spend an enormous amount of time shaping it? We can only guess, but it is certain that early people thought jade so special that it was worthy of the effort to carve it and considered it to be the most precious material on earth. Jade reverence and human history are inextricably associated; jade objects date back 8,000 years ago when Neolithic people in several areas around the world began to use it. It is sobering to consider those who carved it into ceremonial axes or ear and lip plugs or portraits, burial garments, vases and monuments, through sheer persistence and abrasive mud.